Benadryl Question Please answer?

Question

Hi everyone, I need to ask you this because my vet’s office is closed (I will call in the morning as well)

I have an Australian Shepherd mix he's about 80 pounds (3 1/2 yrs. old), I think he may have allergies. We just put frontline flea on him last week and the fleas are gone.

But it seems like this time every year he starts getting these red blotchy like spots on him, I know most of this is from the remaining flea bits, he is constantly scratchy really bad tonight, and he’s whining when he does this. I know he itches.

I have read some past questions about Benadryl for dogs, but nothing really saying what type of benadryl, (liquid, pill childrens etc)I know not to use the ones with Tylenol and stuff in it since it is toxic.

The only thin I have available at hand is the equate brand (walmart) pill form allergy med. Containing 25 mg of diphenhydramine hydrochloride
Can I give him one of those until I can contact y vet tomorrow?

FYI He has always been on frontline, thats not the problem, it seems to be something about the time of year (August)

Thank you Tin Can I looked at that link it was very useful.

Thanks all so much for your help.

Oh and I do NOT live in the ghetto!

Answer 1

You can give it to him. Here is site that has the dosage plus other meds you can use.

http://animalsunlimited.net/meds.htm

Answer 2

I've read of people that have done this, but wouldn't even hazard a guess at how they came up with the dose...

My Sheltie's vet has an after-hours number -- I thought about calling it and pretending it was him, but that story would never fly (he's being treated for conditions that make it almost impossible for him to scratch with either hind foot.)

If your vet doesn't answer or refer after hours, some of the Petco stores have vet offices in-store, and even if not, the people working in pet stores are usually at least somewhat knowledgeable, and should at least be able to suggest something topical to treat the symptoms.

So sorry I can't directly answer your question, but ask yourself these questions:

1. Would you really be able to bet your dogs health on any answer you get here?

2. What would you do if you tried something that had serious complications?

Most people here mean well, but the health of an animal is a complex thing -- I recently read that one of the heart worm meds causes convulsions in a few breeds of dogs (Shelties being one of them.) So what's good for one breed may harm another! If I were you, I'd seek answers from professionals.

I hope your doggy feels better soon!

Answer 3

We give many of the same drugs they give to humans to dogs and cats, but only under veterinary supervision. Plain old benedryl or diphenhydramine (generic) is about one of the safest things you can give. The dose as stated above is 1mg per lb. Capsule or tablets are 25mg, so an 80 lb dog can easily take 3 of them every 12 hours. The most common side effect is a little drowsiness (which is why it is often used as a mild sedative). Make sure it doesn't contain any other medicines.
FYI, if the dog is very itchy, bendryl may not be effective enough. The red spots can be a staph infection and the dog will need antibiotics. Don't hesitate to see your vet if this condition isn't resolving quickly.

Answer 4

Benadryl is frequently prescribed and given by our veterinarians. The usual dose is anything from 1/2mg-1.0mg per pound. For a large dog, I would cut things off at 50mg unless that amount does not seem to bring relief. A 50mg works well for my 90 pound dogs!

Answer 5

ignore the first answer u got

yes, you can give it to the dog, squeeze it up in some cheese or a piece of meat to ensure it swallows it

My sister's a vet tech and Benadryl (the same Benadryl humans take) is prescribed to dogs. Look it up on the net... you'll see

Answer 6

Baby or childrens benadryl is the only thing I would give him. Other allergy meds have different ingredients and since you cant ask a vet lets go ahead and use one that we know is harmless. Also look into checking his food. Most pceople dont realize how horrible of quality there dog food is and it causes food allergys which can be triggered by heat. I have an Aussie and we thought she was allergic to grass, turned out she was allergic to a number of things in her food. We went to holistic eagle and shes great now!

Answer 7

For tonight I would suggest a cool bath, leaving him in the water for 10 mintutes if he will allow it. An oatmeal bath could help. Oatmeal Shampoo or putting colloidal oatmeal (like Aveeno) in the bath water.If you dont have colloidal oatmeal, you can substitute regular oatmeal from the kitchen - take a sock and fill it with the oatmeal - tie the sock over the bathtub spout so that the water comes through the oatmeal. I did read that giving an antihistamine like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) can help. Recommended giving one to three milligrams for every pound. Good Luck for tonight! Call your vet in the morning!

Answer 8

I Love how some people think they are so wise. Some of us have had experience with animals and "human" medicine. Our dog was stung by a yellow jacket and our vet said to give her Benedryl. If I remember correctly it was 25mg per 50 lbs. I also work in a pharmacy and we have people coming in with scripts from their vet alot. So in regards to those stating that "human" medicine is never to be given to dogs. I know for a fact that is happens all the time

Answer 9

Absolutely! One (Equate) adult benadryl is what I give to my 50 pound dog and it really seems to help. It might make him a little listless but it will help with the itching.

Answer 10

First off, lets go over antihistamine use in dogs. Immunoglobulins cause allergy sympotoms. Ours are located primarily in our respiratory tract, some in our skin. Dogs are located in their GI tract and their skin. So when they have an allergic reaction or allergies, they get itchy.

Because of the way the dog body works, antihistimines don't really work well in them to control itching. If anything, it makes them sleepy. If you gave 100 dogs Benedryl - 6 of them may have some relief from itching. 6% doesn't sound like a good deal does it? This is why antihistamine use in dogs should be the last resort - they don't really work. When I worked at the dermatologist we would send people home with packs - a weeks supply of 7 different antihistamines to see which one worked best.

Since is seems like your dog gets like this every year at this time - it could be that you dog has inhaled allergies. If your dog only has flea allergies, then you need to use flea preventatives year round to prevent infestation. Even though you can't see fleas on your dog, there are fleas present in the environment in the form of eggs, larvae and coccooned larvae. They need to be dealt with as well.

Vaccuum every 7-11 days to get the eggs and cocoons to hatch so you can kill them with a premise spray (an adulticide and insect growth regulator). I like KNOCKOUT! premise spray. It should be used after vaccuming. Fleas and larvae don't like light, so be sure to get UNDER things like the couch, the bed, etc. Wash any beding in hot water every 7-11 days also.

If the allergy is really bad, consider using K9Advantix as this contains a repellant and will keep the fleas off (Advantage and Frontline do not repel fleas, they just kill the fleas). Be sure to use it monthly and if you have cats, keep them away from the product after applying it to the dog as it can be potentially toxic to them. If yo uwant to keep using Frontline, then apply it every 3 weeks. This is because the efficacy drops to about 50% in the fouth week. You can also concurrently use a product called Capstar daily to kill all of the fleas on your dog.

It only takes 1 flea bite every 36 hours to product severe itching in the allergic dog and a female flea will bite up to 50 times before finding a suitable blood meal, so dogs that have flea allergies need to be protected.

For now, give your dog a cool bath with some oatmeal shampoo. Let the oatmeal shampoo soak on him for 10-15 minuts before rinsing. And remember - cool water. Call your vet in the morning.

And, it is completely inappropriate to perscribe medications, give dosing information for a pet that a veterinarian has never seen. Federal law states that there must be a patient, client, doctor relationship. Since I am not your vet, it would be inappropriate for me to advise any medications. I do not know if your pet is on any other medications that could potentially react with Benedryl, I do not know your dog's temperment, or health history. For a person to prescribe drugs or drug dosages without a veterinary license is a Class C Felony in some states (practicing veterinary medicine without a license),

Do you trust someone who doesn't know you or your pet and who doesn't care if your pet becomes ill or dies due to drug interaction or a misquoted dose? Trust your own judgement, but I wouldn't.

Answer 11

You would use the liquid form but I can not remember how much. If there is a wal-mart near you go the the pet section, you can buy hydrocortisone spray for dogs. It will work for the itching and red spots. Just follow the directions on the spray bottle and your dog should be fine.